Chapter 099: A Premier Contest [Eleventh Release in the Recommendation Surge]

At the Gold Coast Grand Hotel, in the Purple Cloud Pavilion, Zhang Zhi and Kong Lei and the others gathered around the same table. Zhang Zhi was mostly quiet, while the most lively of them all was still Zhang Xiuxiu, whose wit and playful mischief filled the dining room with warmth and energy.

“Come on, A-Zhi, let your uncle toast you,” Jiang Nan, the deputy director of the Bureau of Culture, said with a raised glass. “Your gaming tournament was truly something. It even outshone the calligraphy contest I put on.”

“You flatter me, Uncle Jiang,” Zhang Zhi said, a little overwhelmed. Though he came from an illustrious family, he understood very well what it meant for the deputy director himself to offer him a toast. It was a mark of real regard.

“Yes,” Zhang Siguo said with a delighted laugh. “At first I thought A-Zhi and that Yang Tian were just fooling around, but I never expected them to make such a sensation in all of Binhai City. Even the old man selling flatbreads on the street knows about the King of Fighters tournament now!”

“That’s right. A-Zhi, I hear more than six thousand people signed up? Then this really does count as a top-tier event!” Kong Lei, the police chief, nodded with a smile. At Zhang Xiuxiu’s invitation, and also after receiving a directive from Vice Mayor Lang Ping, he had been put in charge of security and public order for the King of Fighters tournament at the Hongyu Internet Cafe.

At first, Kong Lei had felt a little displeased, thinking it was overkill to have the municipal bureau handle such a matter. But now he no longer thought that way. A competition with six thousand participants was no small affair; the local station and the criminal investigation squad probably did not have the capacity to keep it under control. It had to be the city bureau that stepped in.

“Honestly, I’m not afraid to make a fool of myself in front of all you uncles,” Zhang Zhi said after downing several strong drinks. Fueled by the alcohol, he spoke his heart. “These past years, I may have looked like I was doing well and moving up fast, but the truth is I’ve finally come to see myself clearly. Only after spending some time with Yang Tian did I realize that I was nothing more than someone with a head full of ideals and the courage to fight for them, but badly lacking in the ability to plan and the judgment to see the bigger picture. And that is exactly what Yang Tian possesses. So if I have achieved anything these last few years, it is not that I made Hongyu Internet Cafe bigger. It is that I met Yang Tian.”

The entire table fell silent, stunned.

They had long heard that the son of the famous Taiwanese businessman Zhang Youcai was an introverted, stubborn fellow, but only today did they seem to truly see him for what he was. He was a man of loyalty and feeling. Perhaps that was precisely why he had no wish to get involved in the scheming world of officialdom or the cutthroat intrigues of commerce.

And then there was Yang Tian, that unusual high school student. Before, these senior officials had simply taken him for a child with too many ideas. But now they did not see him that way anymore. The more they thought about it, the more they felt that this boy was no ordinary person.

“So it seems this Yang Tian really is something,” Zhang Xiuxiu said with a smile, resting her chin on her hand.

“Ah, Zhang Laosi, it looks like we’ll have to play matchmaker this time and tie a red thread for someone,” Jiang Nan said to Zhang Siguo with a grin. Zhang Siguo was the fourth-born in his family, so everyone called him Zhang Laosi.

“Tying a red thread? For whom?” Zhang Xiuxiu asked, her face reddening at once. Seeing Zhang Siguo and Jiang Nan laughing, she became anxious.

“Come now, Xiuxiu, that’s not fair,” someone said. “You’re still trying to hide it in front of a few uncles? Of course we mean you and that little Yang Tian.” Sharing a table with Zhang Xiuxiu had made officials like Yuan Shan and the others from the city bureau much more easygoing as well.

“Oh, Uncle Yuan, don’t talk nonsense,” Zhang Xiuxiu said, blushing but smiling. “Yang Tian is still a high school student, and he’s several years younger than me!”

Seeing even the always bright and bantering Zhang Xiuxiu turn shy, Jiang Nan and the others laughed all the more.

While things were being celebrated on the Gold Coast side, Yang Tian and the others were not idle either. The preliminary rounds were over, and they had a few days’ rest, so Yang Tian had Zhou Bing and A Gui close the internet cafe temporarily, then called everyone in the evening to have dinner at An Qi’s family snack shop.

Huang Juan, Chen Ming, and Zhao Shilei all came as well, and An Qi’s place was packed in no time. Everyone chatted and laughed, and the atmosphere was lively beyond measure. No one looked down on it simply because it was a small shop.

“Come on, Brother Tian, Sister-in-law Juan, let me toast you!” Zhou Bing said, carrying over a bottle of beer. “Brother Tian, I really admire you more and more. With this gaming tournament handled, we’re probably all going to get rich. A few days ago A-Zhi said that once business picks up in the second half of the year, every one of us will be able to take home a fat red envelope for the New Year, and our salaries will double too!”

In the past, Zhou Bing and the others had called Huang Juan “Sister Juan,” and she had felt a little shy about it. But after hearing it so often for so long, she no longer minded. She only smiled sweetly.

“Work hard, and you and A Gui and the others should all be able to become managers of the cafe’s branch stores,” Yang Tian said calmly. “By then you’ll be earning even more.”

At present, he still did not feel at ease letting Zhang Zhi appoint Zhou Bing and the others as branch managers. After all, their rough edges had not yet been fully worn away; they still needed more time. Another half a year, and they would probably be about right.

“Good. With Brother Tian saying that, we’ll work our hardest,” A Gui said happily, raising his glass to toast Yang Tian and Huang Juan. Since coming to Hongyu Internet Cafe, A Gui had changed a great deal. The dyed yellow hair was gone, replaced by a neat short cut of glossy black hair, and when he went out now he dressed in a suit and tie, looking every bit the respectable man.

“Yang Tian, if I graduate from high school, maybe I’ll come work at your cafe too. I don’t want to study anymore. It feels like being in prison all day. I want to start earning money as soon as possible,” Zhang Yunxiang said with a laugh.

“I want to go too,” An Qi said quickly as she came over with a dish. “Yang Tian, can I also do part-time work there? I want to make a little more money!”

“An Qi could certainly go!” Zhao Shilei said, biting into a chicken leg. “As for you, wife, forget it. Just stay close to me, your genius, math prodigy, and King of Fighters master, and I guarantee you’ll eat well and live well every day.”

Then he patted Zhang Yunxiang’s shoulder with the air of a wealthy old landlord, and everyone burst into laughter. Zhao Shilei and Zhang Yunxiang had always addressed each other as husband and wife.

“It’s only because I ended up with you that I failed my math exam last time,” Zhang Yunxiang shot back. “And what kind of math prodigy are you? If Yang Tian hadn’t secretly given you the answer to the last question, you wouldn’t have passed either!”

The two of them started bickering and roughhousing.

“You two stop it,” An Qi said seriously. “I’m being serious, Yang Tian. For the past half year, you’ve all taken such good care of my family’s snack shop’s business. The usurious loan my family owed has already been paid off, and my dad’s condition has also been brought under control. But the money I owe you still has no clear path yet. I want to find another part-time job and earn a bit more.”

“I disagree,” Chen Ming said before Yang Tian could answer. He adjusted his little glasses on the bridge of his nose, and his expression turned especially grave. “Your family’s shop is already busy enough, and you have to study every day too. You’re already exhausted. If you take on another job, I’m afraid your body won’t be able to handle it.”

Yang Tian and the others all nodded, agreeing with Chen Ming’s view.

“See?” Zhao Shilei teased. “Your man doesn’t agree. You’d better give up that idea quickly.”

At once, he drew a mock assault from An Qi and Chen Ming, and the whole table roared with laughter.